estabrook



2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

E. ESTABROOK.

Shell-Fuse.

Patented Jan. 24, 1865.

Fig. 6.

Fig. 3.

Winessgs.

Inventor. im

nnfvviln nsii'bBiaeeK-, er" .massa emr, New nissan? .Iers'ey City, in the'v countyV of Hudson, in? tlie- Stateh of New Jersey, havel inventedi eei'jtain new andl useful Improvementsin 'IilneilnsesV fory Explosive' Shells for War Piirposes'; and* I :iohereby declarel that they follow-'ingis afullf and'- exact description thereof'.

Tlie accompanying drawings Lformv` aI part oi'v this specification.

Figure l is a section, partlyl in p'ersp'ectiv-e, through the center of a sphericall shell. Fig. 291s acm-responding view of the shell, with red linesshowing the fractures. Fig.. 3=isa1sec tion through the elongated; shell;

to besimilar to the French ride-cannon projectile ,generally known as the Beaulieu or the VNapoleon projectile.) Figs. fi and 5 .are central longitudinal sections, showing modifications of the construction of tlie fuse. Flg. 6 is a cross-section on the line- S S in Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the iigures.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation by the aid of the drawings.

vThe exterior of my shell A is similar to that of an ordinary spherical shell. The chamber or interior cavity is formed, by coring in a manner well known to molders; but the form of the core is peculiar. It is a regular or nearly regular polyhedron, the several faces being represented by B B2, Ste.

The material which I have employed with success in casting my shell is ordinary gray iron. In the crystallization of this material, under the conditions presented by my invention, there are planes of weakness extending outward from the lines formed by the inter section of the planes B B2 on the core, as indicated by the red lines in Fig. 2. These Weak places are well known to exist in castings under certainconditions; but these conditions have never, as I am aware, been before realized in explosive shells so as to produce the effect of my invention. In. my invention the areas of the plane faces B B2, dtc., of the cavity being about equal each to the other, and their arrangement being `such that they form equal (The'exterior` formI andthe furnishing thereof witli'tlie': projections or tetons represented, is intendedv lo :Efeit'lrnown` thatv I, EDWINFESTA'BROGK, of 5byyieldingftotheforce:oitherexplosionfcanseg the"sliellitoFdivide'itselt'iiitopieces of a-nearlly lin nftrnrsizegandi c'orrespcndi'nginfnnmber tc. tlienimbero'ff' tli eiface'sA of" the cavity. ave' @tes'tedtliisffeatu'reoff my'i 'nven tion andl found f tfli'ef shelli to divide-itself with'greatregularity, `soastoinsurersmuch: more destructive eiiject than is produced by ordinary shells. The di'- v re'c'ti'o'n` ot tliepres-su're" of-` the'` gasesup'on the vseveral?planefacestenditorendthe shellfalo'ngl, the linesiofffractiire' desired? irrespective of: "the di'fercnce'fof' the crystallization, amr in. myinvention the two v forcesconspire tolins'ure tlevdvis'ion' ini tlieina'nner shown. a talli'z'ation ini the plan es: indi'catedby redlin es" nearlyaeqiial angles theplanesoi weak-ness,

The'crys'- in" Fig. 2- inV myfshellv is=so=muchdifferent fromI that inV other portionsof' the shell as to be fpl'ainly 'visible-l toftheeye when the metal is cut openand" prop'erlypolished.

I\Iy' fus'e-pliig @,-Il prefer tomake of brass. Ipr'olongrit into the center of the cavity-'of- Jtheshell, asv` indicated, and?- 'reduce the thickness of metal at the inner end, c, so that itV coll lapses and closes the communication so soon as the powder commences to ignite in the cavity of the shell. By its termination in the center ofthe cavity it ignites the charge iirst at that point, and the combustion extends itself from thence in all directions uniformly, there being a complete stratum or inclosure of unignited powder surrounding the ignited portion until the whole is on iire. The explosion is for this reason more rapid and energetic, and also more uniform in its ,effect on the several faces of the interior of the shell.

Fig. 4 shows the form in which I made the parts C c, which succeeded admirably in one of my experiments. The main portion of the plug was made of such length as would probably contain the fuse composition, and its exterior was tapered off to a thin edge, c, as rep resented. To the outer surface of this tapered portion I soldered a thin tube open at both ends, as represented. O n the explosion ofthe shell the thin tube detached and lost, but the inner end, c, of the main. portion was tightly closed. I conceive it to be important to provide for the collapsing at a point not at the ex@ treme rear of the entire tube.

length. In fact, I have succeeded. almost or quite as well by other forms. I conceive the It may not bei essential to append, asin Fig. 4, an additional y exterior at that point that the eXtre pressure on the interior at the extreme end of the fuseplug to so nearly balance that on the me end can-A apse as apoint not so .readily be induced to coll t or outer end a little iai-ther toward the fron of the fuse-plug. v

Figs. 45 and 6 indicate'the form which I conceive best adapted to carry out my invention. The extreme inner end is contracted, so as to leave a comparatively small orifice, el, and the length between (Z andthe inner end ofthe fuse composition is iiattened, as indicated in the section. This ilatenin g may be readily effected by means of suitable dies after the fuse-plug has been iirst made in thc ordinary round form. Ou the occurrence oi' the explosion the ilattened part, being thin and inclosing a chamber,y it is of considerable larger sectional area than the orifice d. The pressure on the outsidefis able to very readily overcome the slight press,- ure on the inside and collapse the metal together, leaving it in thecondition indicated in Fig.` 2.

By the collapse of the inner end ol" the fuseplug, so as to close the aperture through the same at the commencement of the explosion,l any considerable loss of force by the escape of gas through the fuse-hole is prevented. I have tested 'this feature of my invention and iind that with a shell and fuse-plug of the proportions and dimensions shown full size in Fig. l, the fuse-plug being of brass and using gunpowder, the end of the fuse-plug is found ve-ry tightly closed after the explosion.v Thev gen eral form assumed by the inner end ofthe fuseplug before or at the instant of the division of l the Shen is indicated by the night black out l line in Fig. 2.

(l l Il 'restrained by the thick shell By reason of all the several features of my invention I am enabled to make athicker shell than the ordinary shell, and to be sure of its division with tolerable certaintyinto fragments of a proper size. I am, also thereby assured of the projection ofthe several pieces asunder with greater force than usual and with less powder, -by reason ofthe fact that the gases are during the perip required to completely ignite the powr1 .nu are thus able to act with more intr .e elastic force to follow the fragments as they divide and scatter.

Fig. 3, as already remarked, shows a French ri'lled-cannon projectile in section. 'The inner end ofthe fuse-plug is made thin and extended into the cavityof the shell, so as to inflame the powderat the center, instead of at the front of the foremost cavity, and so as to collapse and close bythe pressure ofthe explosion. In these features, therefore, this shell contains my in. vcntion. This figure also shows in section the form which I prefer to give to the cores of such projectiles. y

Having now fully described m what I claim as new, and Letters Patent, is

The employment, in explosive shells, of a fuse-,plug adapted to collapse and crush by the action of the exploding charge and to stop the escape of gas through the fuse-plug, substantially as hereinv set orth. I

y invention, desire to secure by E. ESTABB OOK. 

